June has been such a busy month for me, it’s almost been non stop and what with holidays and birthdays – it’s been a pretty good one. But instead of bombarding you with lots and lots of separate posts, I thought I’d group together my favourite picks for this month and share them with you.
Pintura
I’ve been meaning to try this place out for quite a while now, it’s one of the newer offerings to Leeds Trinity and it doesn’t disappoint. However, a gin & tapas bar… it never really fail in my eyes, let’s be fair! The gin selection here is superb, and they are served in the biggest gin glasses ever, complimented with such pretty garnishing. A G&T here will set you back between £8 – £9; but considering the size, I’d say that’s pretty good going. It was about 3 x the serving of your average bar G&T, and much better looking too.
To eat, my friend and I shared this huuuugggeee charcuterie board and we paired it with some of the most beautiful bread I’ve ever tried. We then ordered a selection of tapas, however I think we were a little over ambitious as the starter was probably enough to feed us both. If you do order the tapas, you must try the Morcilla – basque black pudding & crunchy hens egg served with piquillo ketchup, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all week! Even though I was absolutely stuffed, I forced myself to try this beautiful orange blossom chocolate mousse and it did not disappoint – it was absolute perfection… and just look how well presented it was.
Piccolino
Piccolino – specifically Piccolino Collingham – is my all time favourite restaurant, so it was an easy decision where to celebrate my birthday evening. The restaurant is so light, airy and spacious and has the perfect summer feel. We always receive the best service here and are looked after from the moment we walk in.
I celebrated with a strawberry daiquiri (my favourite), then my boyfriend and I… well, he had no choice really… opted for this delicious sharing platter to start. I then followed this with my all time favourite dish, chilli & garlic king prawn linguine. Yes, it’s that good, I order it every time I go in. Thank you Piccolino Collingham for making my birthday so special.
The Sunshine Bakery
My birthday doesn’t just last one day, oh no; in the style of the Queen, I like to make it a week long celebration and drag it out as long as humanly possible… Well it only comes around once a year! So after such an enjoyable visit last time, I decided to head back to The Sunshine Bakery on the Saturday afternoon with my mum & sister for the ever wonderful afternoon tea. Just look at all this food that we got for only £12 each. There was that much, we had to leave with three bags full to the top with take out, much to the delight of my boyfriend. I’m so fond of this place, we are always so well looked after and I just don’t see how you can beat the value and quality that the bakery offers.
Las Iguanas
The Mexico blues have been in full swing since I returned home, so I thought I’d try and re-live some of that holiday spirit. Las Iguanas is one of those places that’s been around for quite some time now and it still manages to pull the crowds in. The menu is so varied and it’s pretty reasonably priced too. Las Iguanas is such a fun place to spend your Friday night, and they have the most amazing 2 for 1 cocktail menu on too. I went with the nachos to start, as they’re the best nachos I’ve ever had in this country and so I always get them; and the chicken fajitas for main. I ordered way too much food to consume on my own, but enjoyed every second of it. I even had a cocktail in a coconut, it cheered my holiday blues right up.
Pintura Kitchen, 1 Trinity St, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS1 6AP
Piccolino Collingham, Wetherby Rd, Collingham, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS22 5AY
The Sunshine Bakery, 182 Harrogate Rd, Leeds LS7 4NZ
Las Iguanas, 3 Cloth Hall St, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS1 2HD
